Angles Of Reflection
Once characterized by beeping soundtracks, blocky graphics and simplistic interfaces, video games have grown to include multi channel audio, high definition visuals and increasingly sophisticated controls. The medium is vast and varied, representing numerous genres and concepts that can provide experiences wholly impossible to find elsewhere. The industry today is booming and in real need of people who understand what it is and what it needs.
Designing for Video Games
What Are Video Games?
As a medium for entertainment, “video game” is an enormously broad label. Asking if someone plays video games is fundamentally identical to asking if that person watches movies. On average, there is a decent chance that the answer to either question will be some version of “yes” but the amount of specific, valuable information gained from the answer will be, on average, virtually zero.
Even by restricting our definition to only include games that are played on a console or computer (see sidebar for brief descriptions of both and others), we are hardly narrowing the field. The use of the word game itself is somewhat restrictive as it implies that fun is the main goal. Not all video games are intended to be fun any more than all movies are intended to be serious. Neither media can be reduced to a singular concept; rather, they provide a way to experience virtually anything.
Video games can be a method for telling a story, a way to make music and even act as an exercise machine. Some games are ambitiously realistic, while others strive to be more cinematic, cartoony or artistic and everything in between. Even games that, on the surface, are quite similar in many respects can still be wildly different in their complexity, methods of interaction and countless other particulars.
In short, video games cannot collectively be thought of as a single product created for a single audience, requiring a single approach for proper integration. It would be incorrect to assume that all games will be played while seated or while standing; while alone or in a group or with the lights on or off. There is no perfect and infinitely applicable solution to any design challenge, of course, but the variables involved with video games are exceptionally many.
What do they need?
Basically, they need a way to see and hear what is going on in the game and, obviously, a place to play. Quite often, the AV tasks are still being performed by workstation monitors and standard definition televisions. Even so, it would be rare to find anyone oblivious to the appeal of a bigger screen and a more powerful sound system. As far as accurate components and proper calibrations are concerned, some work is still needed to elevate these matters in perceived importance.
As for the room, it is rare to see one dedicated solely to the purpose of playing video games but there are still a few precepts which can lead to an environment more conducive to the activity.
Room Design
The archetypal home theater benefits greatly from the existence of the commercial cinema in that the latter serves as an obvious model on which to base the design of the former. The average home theater user is likely already familiar with the model and would, therefore, have some notion of what to expect from it as a part of the home.
Without an analogous relationship to a larger venue for video games, it can be difficult for users and designers to know exactly what form their rooms should take. It may be tempting to envision a home arcade which mimics the midway style of the typical video game arcade on a smaller scale. While this could strongly appeal to a certain niche, it would utterly fail to provide the average user with a system that takes full advantage of the console and computer games that are in far broader circulation.
A very logical starting point for the design of such a room is, actually, some multi-purpose version of the home theater. There is a reasonable amount of overlap in their intended uses – one or more people in a room and experiencing content via a display and loudspeakers – but they are not identical in every way. Games, after all, are played actively rather than watched passively, so their controls take on a significantly more important role than the control system in a theater.
At one time it was fairly safe to assume that a game would be manipulated by a mouse and keyboard or via a standard handheld controller of some kind but this is no longer the case. Those methods still exist and are often used but they have been joined by such as guitars, wands, skateboards, and even the player’s entire body. With so many possible ways for players to interact, it is critical that the video game room be flexible enough to allow for players to sit, stand or move around freely.
While seated, it is advisable to give at least four seats to those in the front row or its equivalent. Rarely will a game support more than four simultaneous players sharing the same display and, as with any other type of game, few people want to play from the second row.
Housing the Hardware – New and Old
Just like any technology, the obsolescence of video game hardware is absolutely inevitable. Console generations last some variable number of years, generally five or more, after which completely new hardware is released. Computers, on the other hand, may be upgraded in stages by replacing individual components over the life of the machine instead of starting over with an entirely new system.
Outdated hardware becomes obsolete in that it ceases to be a platform for new software but its complete disappearance from use is rather unlikely. Old systems have a way of maintaining some relevance among players long after they have been abandoned by developers and manufacturers. This is especially true among many of the most serious hobbyists who treat their aged collections with the same respect that music enthusiasts might reserve for their analog recordings and tube amplifiers.
It would be wise, then, to approach designs meant to accommodate video game hardware with an expectation for simultaneous permanence and impermanence. The devices installed today are permanent in that they may remain installed for the rest of their lives and should be protected. Newer devices will be added, however, so the system’s configuration overall is impermanent and must have room to expand.
Naturally, when a broad sampling of gear from multiple decades attempts to share the same display, signal management can easily become something of a challenge. Virtually every consumer level AV connection method ever devised is likely to be utilized by some piece or another. Even where only one or two new systems are installed and the input needs are not as great, being able to switch between them easily is a point worth emphasizing.
Also important is being sure to use the best output method available for any given video game system. Most will have the capability to output digitally in the current generation but analog is still in use. Composite cables are included as a part of almost every system, though many will also work with S-Video and Component. Unfortunately, it is common practice to use a proprietary adapter on one end of an otherwise normal cable, so the possibility of upgrading is going to depend on the availability of the part from the manufacturer.
The management of the cables requires some additional consideration, especially as it relates to those cables that run between the controller and the console. Wireless equipment has only recently become the norm, meaning that the interaction between players and their legacy machines is very often going to be conducted via an input device tethered by a two or three meter cable. Where these systems can be installed, then, is wherever they can be within a few meters of the most distant player.
Calibration
The central promise of each successive hardware generation is that it will support software which looks and sounds better than what preceded it. The video game player is conditioned to expect these improvements but might not understand what proper calibration can do to maximize their potential. Of course, every calibrator is probably familiar with this kind of thinking already. That nobody seems to care whether magenta is really magenta is not unique to video game players but a badly calibrated display can have more than an aesthetic impact in this arena.
When the black level or white point of a display is wrong enough to make it impossible to discern certain details in a game, progressing can easily become a frustrating proposition. Game designers expect players to be able to see bright and dark objects and to differentiate one color from another. Likewise, important dialogue and sound cues can come from any direction and need to be intelligible. Failing at these tasks because of hardware inadequacy is, in essence, to play the game incorrectly.
Even when the system is performing adequately, some fine tuning can be instrumental to creating the ideal experience. Many games now include the option to adjust the picture – usually black level or gamma – within the software itself instead of through the player’s display hardware. While this certainly simplifies the task of ensuring that the images in any particular game are not lost, the fact that they are being individually calibrated at all hints at a deficiency in the industry’s display standards.
This represents a fairly significant challenge, I think. Granted, not every professional video or audio recording is conducted with the greatest adherence to their respective standards but there is little evidence to suggest that there are similar standards for video games at all. This is not an indictment of the video games industry but I do hope that as the AV industry gets to know it a little better, they get to know us, too. I hope this has been a good step in that direction.
-- Adam Teevan
ateevan@da-lite.com
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